Chemical cleaning installations for textiles, hereinafter for short "dry-cleaning apparatus", as well as dry-cleaning methods, usually use solvents and cleaning substances such as chlorinated hydrocarbons; perchlorethylene (PCE) is a common cleaning agent. Such dry-cleaning agents are suitable, they are non-combustible, and not explosive. They do, however, have a substantial disadvantage in that these solvents, when evaporating, detrimentally affect the ozone layer surrounding the earth. Additionally, they are somewhat toxic and long-term handling is dangerous to the health of the operators. Efforts have been made to replace the well known chlorinated hydrocarbon cleaning agents with solvents or cleaning agents which are environmentally acceptable and benign, non-toxic, and not detrimental to operators handling freshly dry-cleaned goods, typically garments, or other textile materials. The dry-cleaning agents must, additionally, meet environmental protection laws and regulations, as well as health laws and regulations instituted by governmental authorities.
Difficulties have been encountered in converting apparatus used in dry-cleaning with hydrocarbons to be useful with non-toxic agents since dry-cleaning agents which meet the requirements of environmental and health acceptability known in the industry are, unfortunately, combustible and, under some conditions, the gases emitted therefrom are potentially explosive. Consequently, conventional dry-cleaning machinery and methods cannot be used with dry-cleaning agents of this type.